New York City is subject to an air quality warning in the days before the World Cup final between Spain and Argentina in nearby New Jersey.
The World Cup final will be played in the United States for the second time and the first on the Eastern Seaboard, 32 years after Brazil and Italy played at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.
World Cup 2026 has been occasionally affected by weather delays but there is no expectation at present that the final will be subject to any such issues on Sunday.
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New York’s air quality ‘very unhealthy’
After a midweek advisory for heat passed, the air quality alert is the result of smoke from the wildfires burning in their hundreds north of the border. Away from the direct and devastating effects in Canada’s wildlands, major cities including Toronto are engulfed in smoke.
Detroit and New York are also experiencing severe deterioration of their air quality, while alerts have also been issued in several other cities in the United States.
In NYC, smoke from the wildfires led to an air quality advisory in New York City. That ‘Unhealthy’ warning was upgraded to ‘Very Unhealthy’ late on Thursday but there are signs of improvement on Friday morning and it’s understood that the World Cup final will not be affected.
With rain forecast on Saturday, officials expect the air quality to improve further. Domestic football has already been affected.
“The smoke-filled sky and extremely hot temperatures have already been experienced by some footballers. The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) went ahead with a match between Gotham FC and Washington Spirit on Wednesday night in front of a record crowd at Citi Field in Queens despite the orange haze,” reported BBC Sport.
“The air quality index meant players were mandated to take two breaks per half according to NWSL policy.”
Spain booked their place in the World Cup final for the second time by beating France 2-0 in Tuesday’s semi-final. On Wednesday, Argentina came from behind to beat England 2-1. The reigning world champions will play in their third final in the last four World Cups.
New York New Jersey Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, and is the home of the New York Jets and New York Giants of the NFL.
It has been packed out for its previous seven matches, the first of which was the Group C fixture between Brazil and Morocco that was officiated by World Cup final referee Slavko Vincic.
Brazil, Senegal, France and Norway have each played there twice but the final will be a first taste of New Jersey for both Spain and Argentina.
